A Brief History of the Jewish People

Description

It is truly staggering to imagine that nearly four thousand years of Jewish history could ever be condensed into a single volume. Yet this is what Moshe Weiss has accomplished in A Brief History of the Jewish People, and he has done so with a breadth of narrative and a depth of learning that render this book remarkably accessible and informative to readers and students from all walks of life. From the journey of the patriarch Abraham as he spread the teaching of monotheism in Canaan, to the dazzling achievements of the American-Jewish community and the creation of the State of Israel in the latter half of the twentieth century, the entire spectrum of tumultuous history is traversed. In twenty-three concise, lucid and information-packed chapters, the reader moves from the formative years of the Jewish people to the kingdoms of Judea and Samaria, to the destruction of the First and Second Temples followed by two thousand years of exile peopled by brilliant, legendary figures as well as by adventurers and knaves. It is an inspiring and enlightening history of a unique people distinguished by suffering and survival, by scholarship and spirituality.
Beginning with the growth of a small tribe on the sands of Israel, and concluding with the ongoing negotiations between the children of Abraham-Isaac and Ishmael-to secure a place in the land of their ancestors, it is a vibrant and heroic history, at times tragic, at times triumphant, all of it coming alive in these pages. Comprehensive in scope yet rich in detail, this book was created for students of all kinds-those in the classroom at every level of their education as well as those interested intelligent readers who want to advance their knowledge and learn on their own. Readers will find represented here every contemporary group of the Jewish faith-Ashkenazim and Sephardim, Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform-as well as almost every great empire and nation that had ever existed on the earth as Jewish history unfolded over four millennia. A Brief His

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About Author

Moshe Weiss is an Orthodox rabbi with a doctorate from Yeshiva University who makes his home in Israel and the United States. Raised in Oswiecim, which later became known as Auschwitz, he arrived in America with his family before the Second World War. A prolific columnist and popular lecturer, he is the author of From Oswiecim to Auschwitz (1996), based on the many visits he made back to Poland, beginning in the 1950s, well before such pilgrimages became common. He is also the author of a scholarly study of the Rushino commentary on the Pentateuch, as well as biographies of leading figures in the Religious Zionist movement.

Contents

Chapter 1 Abraham to David: 1726-958 B.C.E. Chapter 2 Solomon to the Destruction of the First Temple: Circa 990-586 B.C.E. Chapter 3 The Babylonian Exile to the Return to Zion: 586-333 B.C.E. Chapter 4 Alexander the Great to the Syrian Rule: 333-165 B.C.E. Chapter 5 The Maccabean Revolt and the Hasmonean Period: 165-37 B.C.E. Chapter 6 Herod to the Destruction of the Second Temple: 37 B.C.E.-70 C. E. Chapter 7 Postdestruction Period to the Compilation of the Mishnah: 70-217 Chapter 8 Talmudic Period to the Rise of Islam: 225-622 Chapter 9 The Geonim and the Saadiah Gaon: 700-1040 Chapter 10 The Golden Age in Spain to Maimonidean Controversy: 1200-1400 Chapter 11 The Spanish Inquisition to the Kabbalists of Safed: 1480-1600 Chapter 12 Germany and Holland: 1250-1772 Chapter 13 False Messiahs to Hasidism: 1650-1800 Chapter 14 Enlightenment and Emancipation: 1750-1900 Chapter 15 France and Religious Toleration: 1785-1906 Chapter 16 England and the United States: 1700-1914 Chapter 17 Russia and Jewish Nationalism: 1800-1914 Chapter 18 World War I to the Holocaust: 1914-1945 Chapter 19 The American Jewish Community: 1945-2000 Chapter 20 The State of Israel-The First Fifty Years: 1948-1998